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11 Outstanding Online Resources for Web Developers

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If you're a web developer, you're almost certainly constantly looking for ways to improve your skills, expand your technology arsenal, and keep on top of the latest trends in development and design. Whether you need to pick up a new coding language, get informed about new standards, brush up on best practices, or simply get inspired by great examples from your peers, we've collated a number of great resources to help you stay at the top of your game.

Have a look at some of the online repositories for great development information and inspiration below, and be sure to tell us about any other trusted sources we haven't included in the list that other developers should check out.

1. W3 Schools

Featuring one of the largest collections of tutorials and reference articles for web developers on the internet, W3 Schools offers a huge assortment of learning and training resources on just about every relevant language and web service in use on the web today. You'll find content tailored towards the full range from beginner to expert developer along with code examples, quizzes, tutorials, and reference guides in a relatively clean and well-organized site complete with a well-trafficked forum community.

2. A List Apart

Taking a holistic approach to the subject of web development, A List Apart is "for people who make websites" including designers, developers, and online content creators of all stripes. From its origins as a mailing list in 1997, to its official launch as a website the following year, and on into today's ALA 4.0 incarnation, A List Apart has consistently produced and curated top notch content at the intersection between design and development for the web.

3. Webmonkey

Now a property of Wired Digital, Webmonkey has been a resource to developers on the web with a long and storied history stretching back to 1996. Having been brought back to life twice during that time, Webmonkey now operates as a wiki, featuring contributions from the developer community to an extensive code library, reference section, and tutorial clearinghouse.

4. Dev Shed

Combining extensive coding tutorials with an active forum community, Dev Shed is one of a family of interconnected sites offering free guides and instructional material to web developers. From language tutorials to webmaster tools to example scripts, the Dev Shed collection has something for webdevs at various skill levels and technology needs.

5. Smashing Magazine

Aimed at both web designers and developers, Smashing Magazine is a frequently updated and independent web publication serving up quality information and community discussion surrounding best practices and techniques on the web. Though the heavier emphasis is on design, the articles, resources, and tools address dynamic HTML technologies, WordPress template coding, and development software as well.

6. Developer Tutorials

Dedicated to "helping ordinary people create extraordinary websites," Developer Tutorials has offerings for major languages and multimedia production software. In addition to free scripts and extensive developer manuals, the site also has sections for finding reputable online services for common development needs, and to help with projects where you may need to outsource certain components.

7. Ajaxian

A great resource for folks building dynamic web content, Ajaxian is a long-running blog featuring news, editorials, podcasts, resource links, code examples, and more. Less a repository of tutorials and more a timely resource for news and developments of interest to dynamic web builders, Ajaxian also features an active community of readers and commenters in addition to its experienced staff of writers and practitioners.

8. DZone

The simplest analogy is to think of DZone as Digg for developers. The link-sharing community surfaces great resources of interest to webdevs as well as providing free reference cheatsheets, white papers, and original editorial articles as well.

9. IBM developerWorks

A clearinghouse for tutorials and articles on a wide range of development topics, IBM's developerWorks explores dynamic web content technologies as well as related fields including systems administration and open source applications. Various learning resources and downloads are offered surrounding a wide variety of web projects from PHP and DHTML to wikis and web service mashups.

10. Sitepoint

Having waxed and waned in popularity over the years, Sitepoint has survived the changing tastes and standards on the web to currently bring fresh perspectives and information for both developers and designers. Instructional videos are available in both free and paid series flavors, a well-organized reference section covers CSS, HTML and Javascript, and an active forum community round out this resource for webdevs.

11. O'Reilly

Best known for its extensive book series covering a wide variety of technical topics, O'Reilly's online site is also home to a number of web resources both free and paid of interest to web developers. An Answers platform provides a community knowledge base, original blog and video content provide news and commentary, and the Safari Books Online service gives access to thousands of technology reference books from major publishers for a monthly subscription fee.

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